JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Court TV) — Florida State Attorney Melissa Nelson and the Jacksonville Beach Police Department have announced a new arrest in the February 2022 murder of Jared Bridegan.
Jared Bridegan (Jacksonville Police Department)
Bridegan’s ex-wife, Shanna Gardner-Fernandez, has been indicted in the murder of her ex-husband. Gardner-Fernandez was arrested this morning at her current home in Washington State and is expected to be extradited back to Florida. Prosecutors, who plan to seek the death penalty, are also expected to charge Gardner-Fernandez with conspiracy, solicitation and child abuse.
Bridegan, a 33-year-old executive with Microsoft, was gunned down in front of his 2-year-old daughter on February 16, 2022. Bridegan shared twins with Gardner-Fernandez, and was in the midst of a bitter custody battle with his ex at the time of his death. He was killed after dropping off the twins, who were 9 years old at the time, at Gardner-Fernandez’s Jacksonville Beach home.
Bridegan, who had remarried and had two more children, was in the car with his two-year-old daughter when he was shot after exiting the vehicle to move a tire that was in the middle of the road.
“For 547 days we have hoped and prayed this day would come,” Kirsten Bridegan, Jared’s wife, said in a statement on Thursday night. “Shanna’s arrest ends one horrific chapter of our pursuit of justice for Jared. Now, we open a new one. This next chapter will be excruciating, but we are confident in the ability of the State Attorney’s Office and law enforcement to bring the truth to light. We expect to see justice carried out to the fullest extent of the law.”
WATCH: Jared Bridegan’s Widow Speaks to Court TVThis is the third arrest in the case — two people had already been charged: Henry Tenon and Mario Fernandez-Saldana. Fernandez-Saldana is Gardner-Fernandez’s current husband.
Tenon, who was arrested back in January, previously pleaded guilty. He admitted he was the one that pulled the trigger, and agreed to testify against Fernandez-Saldana.
